


Could Still be Having

by n0luv



Category: The Umbrella Academy (Comics), The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angsty Luther Hargreeves, Gen, Good Sibling Vanya Hargreeves, Hurt Luther Hargreeves, Luther Hargreeves Needs A Hug, No Incest, Protective Vanya Hargreeves, no beta we die like ben
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:33:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25976746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/n0luv/pseuds/n0luv
Summary: (“The word “repurpose” means to take an object and give it amnesia. It means to make something forget what it’s been trained to do so you can use it for a better reason.” ― Rudy Francisco, Helium)When Vanya finds her brother confused and lost in the coffee shop two streets away from her apartment, claiming memory loss and asking for a place to stay, she hesitantly says yes.Vanya doesn’t know if she ever knew any of her siblings at all, but this time she hopes she can find out, and help him too.(luther loses his memory and ends up living with vanya. chaos and family reunions ensue.)
Relationships: Luther Hargreeves & Vanya Hargreeves, No Romantic Relationship(s)
Kudos: 153





	Could Still be Having

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> incredibly loooooonggggggggg chapter, just to set the scene for the *main* story x)

“But, F—sir!” Luther clammored, desperately trying to free himself of the shackles tightened around him. “Sir, don’t do this, I’ll — I’ll go, I swear, jus—“

”Shush.” His father said, rearranging a variety of tools on his tray. “This is a mission, for _you_ , Number One.” He waited for Luther to nod, “It’s a _special_ mission.” 

Luther took a deep breath, recoiling from the needle in his fathers hand, “Sir, I — I just don’t understand _why_ I have t—“ His father shook his head disapprovingly. He went quiet.

He took a shaky breath, as his fathers needle drew closer to his neck.

In these last moments, Luther couldn’t think of anything but his siblings. It’s like when you’re about to die. Your life flashes before your eyes. 

“Dad, please, I don’t want to do th—“ 

—

Vanya knew little of what happened to her family after she left.

She didn’t want to know, more accurately. Her whole childhood was like an isolated prison, and the people who were her ’family’ were also the ones who made hell feel worse than should have been possible.

So she was surprised to find her eldest brother (they didn’t have any age gaps, but it felt right for Luther to have seniority) with a duffle bag, in a coffee shop, looking feverishly outside.

His hands were tight around the coffee cup, and he seemed to be pleasantly surprised with the taste. Like he hadn’t had it in years.

Vanya had been there, working on a secret project of hers — which, coincidentally, was about her family — and when she saw Luther, she nearly shriveled up like when she was a child.

“Vanya,” She said to herself, breathing in and out, “You aren’t twelve anymore.” Vanya shook her head, steeling herself and standing up, nearing her brother’s table across the shop.

She sat on the chair across the table from him. “Luther.” She said, forcing her gaze away from the particularly.. interesting, if you could say that, painting, behind her brother.

The tall blonde turned away from the window beside himself, giving her a confused expression.

“Do — do I know you?” He asked.

Vanya blinked, opening her mouth and closing it, feeling her face flush with heat. Did she make a mistake? She must have, her brother wouldn’t be caught dead anywhere except the house, much less in a public setting — but the closer Vanya looked, her doubts died down.

The way his eyebrows scrunched when confused, his poorly dyed blonde hair, his tall stature... it couldn’t be anyone but her brother. 

“Of.. course, you do.” She answered hesitantly.

He watched her for a moment. “I do?” It was like an annoying back and forth game. “I’m your sister, Luther. Vanya,” She paused, seeing him fall further down the rabbit hole. “Remember?”

He didn’t answer, biting his lip nervously, perhaps hesitating on whether or not he should share this specific bit of information.

“Well, I.. recently got into an accident.” He fidgeted with the sleeve cuffs of his coat, “They said I suffered a bit of, uh, nasty, head trauma. I think I got hit by a car.” Luther trailed off from the subject, before snapping back to attention.

“Anyways, er, I don’t have a phone, and I couldn’t possibly remember my family’s number to call at the hospital...” He sighed, deflating unto himself, “I got discharged today. And, well, I don’t — I don’t have anywhere to stay.” He whispered the last part, looking down to his feet.

Vanya stared at her brother, unblinking for a beat. Her confident, annoying, pompous, rude, brother was the same man here, fidgeting anxiously with his coat sleeves and stuttering. 

“If you are my sister, like you say,” He looked up at Vanya, eyes horrifically melancholic, “Could — could I stay... with you?” 

Vanya didn’t answer. “If it’s no problem with you!” He said, shaking his head, “I’m sorry I asked, I mean, I don’t even know if we were close, or if you are actually my sister, but—“

”Er,” Vanya took a breath, “..sure.” 

—

“What was I like?” Luther asks, at 1am on a Monday, when they first start moving furniture. 

Vanya hesitates to answer, because she doesn’t want to break it to him that he wasn’t exactly the best brother. 

Luther senses this, and pauses, setting down a box full of plates, “I wasn’t.. great.” He clues in. 

”You..” Vanya sighs, sitting down on the plastic wrapped couch beside her, “You had good intentions. And they always carried out, like the leader you were.” She bit her lip, “Even if it wasn’t in the best ways.” 

Luther doesn’t respond, instead picking up a few more boxes and walking down the hallway.

Vanya wants Luther to know what he was like. She truly does. But it gets harder each time, when she has to remind herself that he isn’t him, anymore. 

—

The second thing Luther asks is if he had any special interests. 

It’s another late night, 2am, the second day of their spectacular two weeks of renovations to Vanya’s apartment, since Luther moving in had triggered her hidden Interior Interest™ and the yellow stained kitchen tiles were driving her insane.

“Er,” Vanya pauses, since she was quite unsure how to answer. It wasn’t like she knew, well, _anything_ , about him, and that much is evident, considering how much she’s backspaced on the chapter of him in her project.

Finally, Vanya gets a lightbulb moment, as shes picking out the concrete ridden tiles out of her kitchen wall. “You liked space.. a lot.” Luther blinks, “Space. Huh.”

Vanya nods, grabbing her pick once more. “I get it. The moon is incredibly pretty.” He says abruptly, “But it does look horrifyingly isolated.” 

“I think I remember you and Diego fighting over that topic.” Vanya says suddenly, before she can think. It’s the first thing that comes to mind, and she curses herself for it. 

“Diego?” Luther asks curiously, stepping down from the ladder for the lights.

“Our brother.” Vanya answers. “You and he fought for hours on end about that. Endless back and forth about how ‘space was boring!’ or ‘police are annoying.’” 

—

“Were we close?” Is the third thing Luther asks her, on another late night, this time at 3am.

Vanya pauses, nearly impaling her thumb with the screwdriver she was using to prop open paint cans, incredibly unprepared for the question. She debates, silently, whether or not to break the truth on her blank slate of a brother, or to lie. 

She’s already made the decision, she knows that deep down, but hesitating is her specialty.“No.” Vanya all but whispers. 

Luther nods shortly, looking down to the paint roller in his hand.

“You were close with our other sister.” She continued, “Her name is Allison.” 

She hadn’t told Luther anything about the family. Not a name, not a number, not nearly a whisper of anything. 

Luther’s steps overtop the plastic tarp underneath him fill the silence. The two of them get back to business.

—

“I.. need to know.” Luther says abruptly, “Are there any of our siblings who, er,” He swallows, “Was especially horrible to? Did I have any.. enemies?” 

Vanya was ready for this question, surprisingly. Considering that throughout the day he’d been trying to segway any type of conversation into this topic, well. She had to be. 


End file.
